Author Archives: Maureen Smith

Pope: Dream, prophesy, don’t focus just on survival

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By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – When religious orders focus on survival rather than on sharing the joy and hope of faith in Jesus, they end up being “professionals of the sacred, but not fathers and mothers,” Pope Francis said.
“The temptation of survival turns what the Lord presents as an opportunity for mission into something dangerous, threatening, potentially disastrous,” the pope told consecrated men and women who joined him Feb. 2 for Mass on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the World Day for Consecrated Life.
Speaking as a fellow member of a religious order, Pope Francis urged religious to keep alive the faith, hope and audacity of the men and women who founded the orders to which they belong.
“We are heirs to those who have gone before us and had the courage to dream,” he said during the Mass, which began with the blessing of candles celebrating the presentation of Christ as the light of the world.
The feast day Gospel reading from St. Luke tells the story of Mary and Joseph bringing the newborn Jesus to the temple in fulfillment of the law. The elderly and pious Simeon and Anna are in the temple and rejoice when they see Jesus, recognizing him as the Messiah.
Simeon and Anna, the pope said, testified that “life is worth living in hope because the Lord keeps his promise.”
The pope said religious have inherited Simeon and Anna’s hymn of hope from their founders and elders, who “had the courage to dream.”
Hope in the Lord and the prophetic announcement of his presence “will protect us from a temptation that can make our consecrated life barren: the temptation of survival” and of preserving institutions above all else, said the pope, a member of the Jesuit order.
“The mentality of survival makes us reactionaries, fearful, slowly and silently shutting ourselves up in our houses and in our own preconceived notions,” he said. “It makes us look back to the glory days – days that are past – and rather than rekindling the prophetic creativity born of our founders’ dreams, it looks for shortcuts in order to evade the challenges knocking on our doors today.
“A survival mentality robs our charisms of power, because it leads us to ‘domesticate’ them, to make them ‘user-friendly,’ robbing them of their original creative force,” Pope Francis continued. “It makes us want to protect spaces, buildings and structures, rather than to encourage new initiatives.”
The temptation of survival, he said, “turns us into professionals of the sacred but not fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters of that hope to which we are called to bear prophetic witness.”
Like Mary and Joseph, religious are called to bring Jesus into the midst of his people, the pope said. “Only this will make our lives fruitful and keep our hearts alive.”
All Christians, but especially those consecrated with the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, are called to be the leaven of the Gospel in the world, he said.
“Perhaps there are better brands of flour, but the Lord has called us to be leaven here and now, with the challenges we face. Not on the defensive or motivated by fear,” he said, “but with our hands on the plow, helping the wheat to grow, even though it has frequently been sown among weeds.”
“Putting Jesus in the midst of his people,” he said, “means taking up and carrying the crosses of our brothers and sisters. It means wanting to touch the wounds of Jesus in the wounds of a world in pain, which longs and cries out for healing.”

Welcoming the Stranger

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IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI

In the Hebrew Scriptures, that part of the bible we call the Old Testament, we find a strong religious challenge to always welcome the stranger, the foreigner. This was emphasized for two reasons: First, because the Jewish people themselves had once been foreigners and immigrants. Their scriptures kept reminding them not to forget that. Second, they believed that God’s revelation, most often, comes to us through the stranger, in what’s foreign to us. That belief was integral to their faith.

The great prophets developed this much further. They taught that God favors the poor preferentially and that consequently we will be judged, judged religiously, by how we treat the poor. The prophets coined this mantra (still worth memorizing): The quality of your faith will be judged by the quality of justice in the land; and the quality of justice in the land will always be judged by how orphans, widows, and strangers fare while you are alive.

Orphans, widows, and strangers! That’s scriptural code for who, at any given time, are the three most vulnerable groups in society. And the prophets’ message didn’t go down easy. Rather it was a religious affront to many of the pious at the time who strongly believed that we will be judged religiously and morally by the rigor and strictness of our religious observance. Then, like now, social justice was often religiously marginalized.

But Jesus sides with the Hebrew prophets. For him, God not only makes a preferential option for the poor, but God is in the poor. How we treat the poor is how we treat God. Moreover the prophets’ mantra, that we will be judged religiously by how we treat the poor, is given a normative expression in Jesus’ discourse on the final judgment in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25. We are all familiar, perhaps too familiar, with that text. Jesus, in effect, was answering a question: What will the last judgment be like? What will be the test? How will we be judged?

His answer is stunning and, taken baldly, is perhaps the most challenging text in the Gospels. He tells us that we will be judged, seemingly solely, on the basis of how we treated the poor, that is, on how we have treated the most vulnerable among us. Moreover at one point, he singles out “the stranger”, the foreigner, the refugee: “I was a stranger and you made me welcome … or … you never made me welcome.” We end up on the right or wrong side of God on the basis of how we treat the stranger.

What also needs to be highlighted in this text about the last judgment is that neither group, those who got it right and those who got it wrong, knew what they were doing. Both initially protest: the first by saying: “We didn’t know it was you we were serving” and the second by saying: “Had we known it was you we would have responded.” Both protests, it would seem, are beside the point. In Matthew’s Gospel, mature discipleship doesn’t depend upon us believing that we have it right, it depends only upon us doing it right.

These scriptural principles, I believe, are very apropos today in the face of the refugee and immigrant issues we are facing in the Western world. Today, without doubt, we are facing the biggest humanitarian crisis since the end of the Second World War. Millions upon millions of people, under unjust persecution and the threat of death, are being driven from their homes and homelands with no place to go and no country or community to receive them. As Christians we may not turn our backs on them or turn them away. If Jesus is to be believed, we will be judged religiously more by how we treat refugees than by whether or not we are going to church. When we stand before God in judgment and say in protest: “When did I see you a stranger and not welcome you?” Our generation is likely to hear: “I was a Syrian refugee, and you did not welcome me.”

This, no doubt, might sound naïve, over-idealistic, and fundamentalist. The issue of refugees and immigrants is both highly sensitive and very complex. Countries have borders that need to be respected and defended, just as its citizens have a right to be protected. Admittedly, there are very real political, social, economic, and security issues that have to be addressed. But, as we, our churches, and our governments, address them we must remain clear on what the scriptures, Jesus, and the social teachings of the church uncompromisingly teach: We are to welcome the stranger, irrespective of inconvenience and even if there are some dangers.

For all sorts of pragmatic reasons, political, social, economic, and security, we can perhaps justify not welcoming the stranger; but we can never justify this on Christian grounds. Not welcoming stranger is antithetical to the very heart of Jesus’ message and makes us too-easily forget that we too once were the outsider.

Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, theologian, teacher, and award-winning author, is President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.
Now on Facebook www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser

Louisiana Bishop Herzog retires; Coadjutor Bishop Talley succeeds him

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By Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Ronald P. Herzog of Alexandria, Louisiana. Coadjutor Bishop David P. Talley of Alexandria succeeds him.
The changes were announced in Washington Feb. 2 by Archbishop Christopher Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Bishop Herzog, 74, had headed the 11,108-square-mile diocese in central Louisiana since 2005. Bishop Talley, 66, was named coadjutor of the diocese by Pope Francis last September.

Coadjutor Bishop David P. Talley of Alexandria, La., 66, pictured in a 2010 photo, will succeed Bishop Ronald P. Herzog of Alexandria after Pope Francis accepted the Feb. 2 resignation of Bishop Herzog, who is 74. (CNS photo/Michael Alexander, Georgia Bulletin) See LOUISIANA-BISHOPS Feb. 2, 2017.

Coadjutor Bishop David P. Talley of Alexandria, La., 66, pictured in a 2010 photo, will succeed Bishop Ronald P. Herzog of Alexandria after Pope Francis accepted the Feb. 2 resignation of Bishop Herzog, who is 74. (CNS photo/Michael Alexander, Georgia Bulletin) See LOUISIANA-BISHOPS Feb. 2, 2017.

When he was appointed coadjutor, Bishop Talley was an auxiliary bishop of the Atlanta Archdiocese, where he was vicar general and director of priest personnel. He was ordained a priest of the archdiocese in 1989.
He became the first native-born Georgian to serve as a bishop in the archdiocese. His episcopal motto is “He will give you a new heart.”
As a priest, he served the archdiocese in several capacities, including as director of vocations, tribunal judge, judicial vicar and chancellor. He also served on the Atlanta Archdiocese’s Hispanic ministry board.
When he was director of vocations, the archdiocese initiated a cross-cultural immersion program for seminarians where they spent time living in El Paso, Texas, and in Juarez, Mexico, to learn Spanish and be more knowledgeable about Hispanic culture and more skilled at ministering in a variety of communities.
One of his roles in the Atlanta Archdiocese was as chaplain to the disabilities ministry. He has said that his experience ministering among people with disabilities, which began at his first parish assignment, is key to his spiritual life.
“All they can do is ask the Lord for help. That simplicity and humility is where I think the church should be – humble before God,” he said in an interview in 2013.
Bishop Talley was raised as a Southern Baptist but has said he left the church as a teenager over the issue of racial segregation. At Auburn University, he met Catholics and read the writings of Trappist Father Thomas Merton, which led him to become a Catholic, he said. He was 24 when he joined the church at St. Mary Church in Opelika, Alabama.
Family members remain faithful Baptists, including a brother who is a deacon. That background gives him a broad view, he said. “I do know faith across the spectrum,” he said.
Born in Columbus, Georgia, Sept. 11, 1950, he pursued seminary studies at St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana, earning a master of divinity degree. He was ordained a priest for the Atlanta Archdiocese June 3, 1989, at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta by Archbishop Eugene A. Marino.
His first assignment was as parochial vicar of St. Jude Parish in Sandy Springs, Georgia. He was there until 1993, when he began post-graduate studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned a doctorate in canon law in 1998. In 2001, Pope John Paul II named him a monsignor.
He served other parishes as administrator, pastor and parochial vicar. He last assignment before being named an auxiliary bishop was as pastor of St. Brigid Parish in Johns Creek, Georgia, from 2011 to 2013.
Bishop Talley currently serves as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and as a member of USCCB’s Committee on National Collections and its Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
Born April 22, 1942, in Akron, Ohio, young Ronald Herzog moved with his parents to Natchez, Mississippi, when he was 11 years old. After studies at St. Joseph Seminary in St. Benedict, Louisiana, and at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio, he was ordained a priest June 1, 1968, for the then-Diocese of Natchez-Jackson.
He held pastoral posts throughout his priesthood, in addition to having many diocesan responsibilities. He also became a chaplain in the Mississippi National Guard, eventually retiring with the rank of brigadier general.
He became part of the new Biloxi Diocese when it was formed in June 1977. When Bishop Herzog was named to head the Diocese of Alexandria, he became the first priest from the Biloxi Diocese to be named a bishop.

Bearden joins Chancery staff as Coordinator of Family Ministry

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By Maureen Smith

Charlene Bearden

Charlene Bearden

JACKSON – The Office of Faith Formation welcomes Charlene Bearden as the Coordinator for the Office of Family Ministry. Bearden, a member of Jackson Holy Family Parish, is no stranger to lay ministry. She has led Cursillo weekends, helped with marriage preparation, been a catechist and was in training for a role as a lay leader. Her volunteer work goes back more than 25 years at parishes in the Jackson area.
“I thought I was training to be a lay ecclesial minister,” said Bearden of how she came to the position. Father Michael O’Brien encouraged her to join the program after he saw her natural leadership in parish life. When the family ministry job became available, she found her place.
“When I finished the interview I knew this was where I belonged. It’s a match. I have been involved with children’s CCD, Marriage Encounter, events for the engaged,” she explained. She also served on the St. Richard School advisory council and in a number of other volunteer ministries.
The Office of Family Ministry works with parishes to provide a variety of services that support and minister to families, whether these families are traditional, single parent, blended or extended. Many of these programs are focused on supporting couples. This includes marriage and remarriage preparation, natural family planning, celebrating World Marriage Day and more.
“I have known Charlene for several years and can always count on her for a kind word or encouraging smile. She lovingly sees the family as the foundation on which the whole Church built, from the example of the Holy family to our very own modern day families,” said Fran Lavelle, director of faith formation for the diocese. “I am thrilled to have her on board leading the office of family ministry and look forward to seeing where God takes her in this ministry,” she added.
Bearden said she sees the office as a way to help people better understand God’s very personal love for them. “There is something about the family that is basic to all of humanity. Everyone started with a family,” she said.
“Even though family life can be complicated, there is always the option to move towards, love, intimacy, understanding.”
Bearden also understands something about loss. She and her husband lost their first child to complications after she got meningitis. She was not quite a year old and she died in her mother’s arms.
Years later, Bearden nursed her husband through four years of cancer before his death. “When someone we love is taken from us and we feel their loss we can see that they were loaned to us. They really belong to God,” she said.
Her friends stepped in to become a new kind of family. “Family can expand beyond your immediate family. The family of community, your church family, they are also family.” She sees families as models for the kingdom of God.
She said she and her husband were “babies” when they married and had to mature into their relationship. “That storybook version of marriage is not how God wanted me to see marriage. Living with another person in an intimate environment where the other person can be who God is calling that person to be- that’s where marriage is.”
Bearden credits Father Joseph Dyer, Father O’Brien and Father Frank Cosgrove for supporting and encouraging her through the years and she said she looks forward to showing people all the love God wants to offer them.
Her first event will be the World Marriage Day celebration at the Cathedral Sunday, Feb. 12.

El Espíritu Santo ‘dirige’ al equipo hacia una nueva visión

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Por Obispo Joseph Kopacz
Entre los muchos ejemplos que mostraron a la Iglesia viva en la Diócesis de Jackson esta semana pasada, dos en particular resaltaron en mis visitas pastorales. La conmemoración anual de la Semana de las Escuelas Católicas fue marcada con abundante alegría y creatividad en 10 de las 16 comunidades escolares donde celebré la Eucaristía. (Tengo previsto visitar y celebrar la Eucaristía en las restantes seis escuelas en las próximas semanas.) El orgullo por la escuela fue evidente en cada esquina y en cada pasillo. Estoy agradecido a los muchos que están dedicados por el bienestar de nuestras escuelas católicas que siguen siendo una parte vital de nuestra misión diocesana para proclamar a Jesucristo, de manera que todos lo puedan experimentar a él, crucificado y resucitado.
El segundo evento de esta última semana fue la convocatoria que se realizó y en la cual participaron los líderes de las parroquias, los sacerdotes, diáconos, los ministros eclesiales laicos (LEMs) y varios del personal diocesano quienes se sumergieron en la renovación de nuestra misión, visión y prioridades pastorales.
El entusiasmo y el trabajo colaborativo fueron evidentes desde el lunes por la noche hasta el miércoles por la tarde, el primer paso importante de la aplicación de nuestro plan pastoral que comenzó el pasado año en las sesiones de escucha alrededor de la diócesis. Ha sido un proceso inspirador que me recuerda las cautivadoras palabras del profeta del Antiguo Testamento, Habacuc, las cuales fueron leídas al final del taller. Entonces el Señor me respondió diciendo: Escribe la visión, anótala en tablillas para que pueda leerse de corrido. Porque es una visión con fecha exacta, que a su debido tiempo se cumplirá y que no fallará; si se demora en llegar, espérala porque vendrá ciertamente y sin retraso. (2:2-3)
El siguiente paso, casi un año después de las sesiones de escucha, serán sesiones de implementación alrededor de la diócesis para los líderes parroquiales y personal de las parroquias quienes a su vez trabajan
– Continua en la pag. 11 – con sus párrocos, vicarios parroquiales,
LEMs, y diáconos de maneras muy específicas en cada escenario pastoral. Nuestra declaración diocesana de visión renovada está bien diseñada en su sencillez, y de gran alcance en su pertinencia. Servir a los demás — Inspirar a los discípulos — Abrazar la diversidad.
Estas tres frases surgieron de las deliberaciones del equipo diocesano visionario durante 7 sesiones durante el verano y el otoño que se caracterizaron por una gran reflexión y diálogo tenaz, todo ello bajo la inspiración del Espíritu Santo. La información recogida durante nuestras 17 sesiones de escucha y el clamor de nuestra cultura actual claman por nuestra declaración de visión. Hay prioridades pastorales con metas y tareas vigorosas que derivan de la visión y estas se presentarán y comenzarán a aplicarse a partir del próximo mes. Cada parroquia, escuela y ministerio pastoral participarán en la labor de aplicar concretamente la visión a la realidad de cada ministerio.
Escribo esta columna en la víspera del tercer aniversario de mi ordenación e instalación como el 11th obispo de Jackson y, sin duda, ha sido una aventura repleta de acción en la fe desde el principio. Recuerdo que inmediatamente después de la ceremonia de ordenación un periodista me preguntó si yo podría explayarme sobre la visión que tenía para la diócesis.
Sonreí porque todavía era incapaz de encontrar la mitad de las cosas que empaqué para mi traslado a Jackson de la Diócesis de Scranton, y mucho menos de articular una visión para una diócesis en la que sólo tenía dos horas de servicio. Seriamente, yo sabía que iba a tomar tiempo para asentarme y tener la oportunidad, en las palabras del papa Francisco, “de un encuentro, de diálogar y acompañar” a los fieles de la diócesis de Jackson, a fin de que el Espíritu Santo nos lleve a la vista que ahora pone ante nosotros. Esto es claramente uno de los significados de las palabras proféticas de Habacuc, citado anteriormente con respecto a la espera de la visión para que llegue en su momento designado.
Recuerden que la misión de la Iglesia Católica y de cada diócesis permanece igual hasta que Cristo venga de nuevo, es decir, hacer discípulos de todas las naciones. Nuestra sagrada misión como una diócesis es proclamar a Jesucristo viviendo el Evangelio para que todos puedan experimentar al Señor crucificado y resucitado. De esta misión viene nuestra visión que nos guiará durante los próximos tres a cinco años. Uno espera por la bendición de lograr una unidad más profunda a lo largo de nuestros 65 condados que puede ser compleja debido a nuestra geografía como la diócesis católica más grande al este del río Mississippi. Una de los mantras que periódicamente he escuchado en mis viajes y visitas pastorales es que “no sentimos que somos una parte de la diócesis porque Jackson está tan lejos”.
Esto es difícil de superar, pero creo que nuestra visión renovada con sus prioridades pastorales se esforzará para lograr una unidad que nos facultará. La exhortación de san Pablo a los Corintios que estaban luchando por su unidad, por muchas razones, nos ayuda a comprender la sabiduría de quienes podemos ser. Les ruego, hermanos, en el nombre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, que se pongan de acuerdo y superen sus divisiones, lleguen a ser una sola cosa, con un mismo sentir y los mismos propósitos. (1Cor 1:10) Una visión puede suscitar en nosotros el mismo espíritu y propósito que la distancia no puede debilitar.
Mientras que nuestros 180 años como diócesis se abren delante de nosotros, que el Señor Jesús, siempre antiguo y siempre nuevo, que empezó esta buena obra en nosotros, continúe renovándonos e inspirándonos para servirle fielmente y de manera creativa en nuestro difícil, pero un tiempo lleno de esperanza.

Holy Spirit ‘nudges’ team into new vision

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By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
Among many examples of the Church alive in the Diocese of Jackson this past week two in particular were outstanding in my pastoral visits. The annual commemoration of Catholic Schools Week was marked with abundant joy and creativity in each of the ten out of 16 school communities where I celebrated the Eucharist. (I am scheduled to visit and celebrate the Eucharist in the remaining six schools in the weeks ahead.)
School pride was evident around every corner and down every hallway. I am grateful to many who are dedicated to the wellbeing of our Catholic schools that continue to be a vital part of our diocesan mission to proclaim Jesus Christ so that all may experience him, crucified and risen.
The second event of this past week was the Convocation for parish leadership, priests, lay ecclesial ministers (LEMs), deacons and several diocesan staff who immersed themselves in our renewed mission, vision, and pastoral priorities. The enthusiasm and collaborative work were evident from Monday evening through Wednesday afternoon, the first major step of the implementation of our pastoral plan which began last year in the listening sessions around the diocese.
It has been an inspiring process that recalls for me the captivating words of the Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk, which were read at the end of the workshop. “Then the Lord answered me and said, write down the vision. Make it plain upon tablets, so that the one who reads it may run (with it). For the vision is a witness for the appointed time, a testimony to the end; it will not disappoint. If it delays, wait for it, it will sure come, it will not be late.” (Hab. 2,2-3)
The next step nearly one year after the listening sessions will be to host implementation sessions around the diocese for parish leadership and staff who can in turn work with their pastors, parochial vicars, LEMs, and deacons in very specific ways in each pastoral setting. Our renewed diocesan statement of vision is well designed in its simplicity, and far reaching in its relevance. Serve Others — Inspire Disciples — Embrace Diversity
These three phrases emerged from the deliberations of the diocesan envisioning team throughout seven sessions during the summer and fall which were characterized by considerable reflection and dogged dialogue, all of it under the nudges of the Holy Spirit. The input from our 17 listening sessions and the clamor of our current culture cry out for our statement of vision. There are pastoral priorities with SMART goals and tasks that flow from the vision and these will be presented and applied beginning next month. Each parish, school, and pastoral ministry will engage in the work of specifically applying the vision to the reality of each ministry.
I write this column on the eve of the third anniversary of my ordination and installation as the 11th bishop of Jackson, and without a doubt, it has been an action-packed adventure in faith since the outset. I recall that immediately following the ordination ceremony a reporter asked me if I could elaborate on the vision I had for the diocese. I smiled because I was still unable to find half of the stuff I packed for the move to Jackson from the Scranton diocese, let alone articulate a vision for a diocese that was just two hours old for me.
Seriously, I knew that it would take time to settle in and have the opportunity, in the words of Pope Francis, “to encounter, dialogue with, and accompany” the faithful of the Jackson diocese in order for the Holy Spirit to take us to the vista that now lays before us. This is clearly one of the meanings in the prophetic words of Habakkuk cited above with regard to waiting for the vision to arrive at its appointed time.
Remember that the mission of the Catholic Church and every diocese remains the same until Christ comes again, i.e. to make disciples of all nations. Our sacred mission as a diocese is to proclaim Jesus Christ by living the gospel so that all may experience the crucified and risen Lord. Out of this mission comes our vision which will guide us for the next three to five years.
One hoped-for blessing will be to bring about a deeper unity throughout our 65 counties which can be complex due to our geography as the largest Catholic diocese east of the Mississippi river. One of the mantras that I have periodically heard in my travels and pastoral visits is that “we do not feel like we are a part of the diocese because Jackson is so far away.” This is challenging to overcome, but I believe that our renewed vision with its pastoral priorities will go a long way to bring about a unity that will empower us.
An exhortation from St Paul to the Corinthians who were struggling with unity for many reasons, helps us to understand the wisdom of who we can be. “I urge you brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.” (1Cor 1,10) A vision can inspire in us the same mind and purpose that no distance can weaken.
As our 180th year as a diocese unfolds before us, may the Lord Jesus, ever ancient and ever new, who began this good work in us, continue to renew and inspire us to serve him faithfully and creatively in our hard pressed, and yet hope filled times.

 

Schedule

Bishop Joseph Kopacz and his Envisioning Team will roll out the new Vision, Mission and Pastoral Priorities for the Diocese of Jackson at a series of community meetings througout March and April of this year. All are invited, but members of pastoral and finance councils are especially encouraged to attend. The meetings are not parish-specific, so anyone can attend any meeting.

Sunday March 19 6 p.m. Jackson St. Dominic Annex
(on I-55 Frontage Road)
Monday March 20 6 p.m. McComb St. Alphonsus
Tuesday March 21 6 p.m. Vicksburg St. Paul
Thursday March 23 6 p.m. Greenwood Immaculate Heart of Mary

Sunday March 26 5 p.m. Southaven Christ the King
Monday March 27 6 p.m. Oxford St. John the Evangelist
Tuesday March 28 6 p.m. Cleveland Our Lady of Victories

Tuesday April 4 6 p.m. Meridian St. Patrick
Thursday April 6 6 p.m. Tupelo St. James

Parish News

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SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
BAY ST. LOUIS, St. Augustine Retreat Center, Willwoods Married Couples Retreat: March 18-19. A great opportunity for couples to break away from the daily tasks and spend quality time enriching their marriage. Suggested donation: $275 requested but not required. Details: www.willwoods.org or Jason Angelette, (504) 830-3716.
CANTON Gray Center, Contemplative Prayer Retreat, April 28-30. Presenter: Trappist Monk and prolific author, Fr. William Meninger. He will discuss the connections between forgiveness and love based on his experiences and writings. To register, go to www.graycenter.org Details: marybillups@bellsouth.net or (601) 693-1321.
GREENWOOD Locus Benedictus Retreat Center, Grace for the Journey “A Spiritual Path to Addiction Recovery” meets every Thursday at 6 pm. There is no cost to attend. Details: Magdalene Abraham at (662) 299-1232.

 

PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS
CLARKSDALE St. Elizabeth, Mardi Gras Drawdown for $10,000, Friday, February 24. Includes food, music, and silent auction. Cost: $100 ($25 extra for insurance). Details: Tickets available at the school (662) 624-4239 or parish office (662) 624-4301. Silent auction items being collected: artwork, special services (tours, etc), and other items. To donate, contact Jacquee Wells (662) 902-3115 or (662) 627-3114.
CLEVELAND Our Lady of Victories, Knights of Columbus Spaghetti Supper, Thursday, February 16, 4:00-6:30 p.m., KC Hall on Hwy. 8 West. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from any KC member. Details: Logan Roberts, (662) 588-5444 or church office, (662) 843-1437.
GRENADA St. Peter, Life Line Screening, Tuesday, February 21. You must sign up in advance. Details: church office (662) 226-2490.
JACKSON St. Peter Cathedral, Lenten retreat and Mardi Gras party and anointing, Saturday, February 25, 10 a.m. Doors open at 9a.m. Open to all parishioners, especially those with chronic illness or age 60 years plus. Pre-registration is encouraged. Details: Laura Tarbutton (601) 613-2430.
– St. Richard, “Supper & Substance” celebrating the sacrament of marriage, Saturday, February 11, in Foley Hall. Social at 6:00 p.m. followed by dinner. Presenters: John and Carolyn Harris. Cost: $40 per couple. Reservations required and space is limited. Babysitting available. Details: Debbie Tubertini, (601) 366-2335, ext 107, tubertini@saintrichard.com.
MADISON, St. Francis of Assisi, “Jeans, Jazz, and Bruin Blues,” St. Joseph School’s 24th Annual Draw Down, Feb. 18, 2017, from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $130 and admit two adults. Each ticket includes a chance to win $10,000 plus gourmet food, assorted desserts, an open bar and live entertainment. Second chance insurance may be added for $20. To sponsor or purchase tickets, visit stjoebruins.com or call the school office at 601-898-4800.

YOUTH BRIEFS
MADISON St. Francis of Assisi, Toby Mac Concert at Mississippi Coliseum, Sunday, February 26, 7 pm, featuring five other Christian artists as well. Meet at coliseum at 6:20 p.m. Open to other parishioners as well. Group rate is $20 per ticket. Registration due by February 17. Details: lindsey.binion@stfrancismadison.org (601) 856-5556.
McCOMB, St. Alphonsus, Deanery Two Youth Gathering and Mass, Sunday, February 19, Grades 7-12. Natchez, Crystal Springs, Brookhaven & McComb youth gather at Liguori Hall at 3:30 p.m. for food & games followed by Mass at 5:30 p.m. Details: Jessica McMillan, (760)-402-0872.
MEMPHIS, Tenn., St. Francis Hospital, mother/daughter program to learn about God’s plan for growing up, becoming a woman and His gifts of sexuality, fertility and chastity, Sunday, March 19, for 10 – 12-year-old girls and Sunday, March 26 for 13 – 16-year-old girls and their mothers. All programs begin at 2:00 p.m. at Saint Francis Hospital, 5959 Park Avenue in Memphis. $25.00 per family. Pre-registration is required. Register online at www.cdom.org. Go to bottom of page and click “2017 Mother/Daughter Programs”. Details: Mary Pat Van Epps at Diocese of Memphis NFP Center (901) 373-1285.

STORM RELIEF
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) reports a total of more than 1,400 homes damaged in eight counties, 715 of them were destroyed or sustained major damage from tornadoes and severe storms on Jan 21-22. There were also four confirmed deaths and 60 injuries. Check the MEMA site at https://www.msema.org/ and select “news” for updates on recovery efforts. Catholic Charities – Biloxi will be assisting those affected in Forrest, Lamar, Perry and Jones counties. They are accepting monetary donations at: 1450 N. Street, Gulfport, MS 39507, Attn: Catholic Charities Disaster. For those affected in the counties of Lauderdale, Pike, Franklin and Wilkinson, contact the Jackson Catholic Charities office at 601-326-3785. Monetary donations to Catholic Charities Jackson can be sent to 850 E. River Place, Jackson, MS 39202 or www.catholiccharitiesjackson.org, Attn: Disaster Ministry.

Bishops launch letter campaign urging Trump to protect religious freedom

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By Carol Zimmermann
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Saying “religious freedom in America has suffered years of unprecedented erosion,” the U.S. Catholic bishops have posted an online letter for Catholics to send to President Donald Trump urging him to sign an executive order promoting religious freedom.
The letter, found at www.votervoice.net/USCCB/Campaigns, says the president can “restore the federal government’s respect for the religious freedom of individuals and organizations” with an executive order that establishes a “government-wide initiative to respect religious freedom.” Individuals can sign the letter and hit a link to submit it to Trump.
A leaked draft version of a potential religious freedom order was circulating in the media and among federal staff and advocacy groups at the end of January. When White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked about the draft Jan. 30, he said he would not get “ahead of the executive orders that we may or may not issue.” He noted that there have been a lot of executive actions and “a lot of things that the president has talked about and will continue to fulfill, but we have nothing on that front now.”
A White House official told ABC News that the leaked draft on religious freedom is one of hundreds of circulating orders that were either written by the transition team or the White House.
Although Spicer did not elaborate on the leaked document, he told reporters that freedom of religion in the U.S. should mean “people should be able to practice their religion, express their religion, express areas of their faith without reprisal.”
“And I think that pendulum sometimes swings the other way in the name of political correctness,” he added.
The four-page draft has raised concerns among those who said it would legalize discrimination and was too far-reaching, but University of Notre Dame law professor Richard Garnett said in an email to Catholic News Service that the “critics are dramatically overstating” what the order can do.
The draft states that “Americans and their religious organizations will not be coerced by the federal government into participating in activities that violate their consciences.” It also notes that people and organizations do not “forfeit their religious freedom when providing social services, education or health care.” It cites the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which states that government “shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion” unless that burden “is the least restrictive means to further a compelling governmental interest.”
The U.S. bishops, who have made religious liberty a priority, have not released a statement on potential executive action on religious freedom by Trump but in the online letter available for Catholics to sign stressed such an order should include some of the following measures:
– Relief from the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate. Currently, the mandate – issued by the federal Department of Health and Human Services as part of the implementation of the health care law – requires most religious employers to provide coverage of artificial birth control for their employees even if the employer is morally opposed to such coverage. There is a very narrow exemption for churches.
– Preservation of tax-exempt status for nonprofit groups that hold beliefs based on marriage and human sexuality.
– The ability of religious organizations that partner with the federal government to act according to their beliefs regarding marriage, human sexuality and the protection of human life at all stages.
– The ability of religiously affiliated child welfare providers to provide adoption, foster or family support services for children that coincide with their religious beliefs.
— Conscience protections about abortion in the individual health insurance market.
(Follow Zimmermann on Twitter: @carolmaczim.)

Advocates stress that U.S. has moral obligation to welcome refugees

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By Dennis Sadowski
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Leaders from six organizations want Americans and President Donald Trump to understand that refugees, especially those from war-torn Middle Eastern countries, are average people with careers, comfortable homes and loving families rather than see them as a monolithic threat to the United States.
Their appeal during a Feb. 1 news conference at Casa Italiana at Holy Rosary Church in Washington came as refugees continued to be denied entry into the U.S. nearly a week after Trump ordered a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee resettlement program.
Officials of Catholic Charities USA, Migration and Refugee Services of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., Catholic Relief Services, the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and the Center for Migration Studies called on Trump to rescind his presidential memorandum implementing the suspension, saying the country has a moral obligation to welcome people fleeing for their lives.
They called the world’s refugee crisis a pro-life issue.
“One of the issues for many of us in this country is that we can’t imagine that the refugee is a person like ourselves, that many of the people that are now caught in camps or horrible situations are people like ourselves who woke up one morning and learned that everything they had was destroyed,” said Dominican Sister Donna Markham, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA.
“We all have to stop objectifying them. These are human beings like you and I,” she said, recalling the people in northern Iraq she recently contacted via online video communications.
Other leaders cited the country’s long history of welcoming refugees as well as church teaching on welcoming the stranger. They said the U.S. should not relinquish its role as a moral leader in refugee resettlement, especially for those who have been cleared or are awaiting final approval to enter the country. Any delay in their arrival puts them at greater threat, the leaders said.
“These refugees are victims of the same violence that we are trying to protect ourselves from,” said Jill Marie Gerschutz-Bell, senor legislative specialist at Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ overseas relief and development agency. “And yet it is American principles, of course, that we are trying to protect. So a disproportionate security response leaves us wondering: What does it mean to be American? What does it mean to be Catholic?”
Welcoming refugees can be an act that not only protects them but also protects U.S. security, said Don Kerwin, executive director of the Center for Migration Studies in New York City. “It’s not really a balance. Refugee protection actually advances and furthers security,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean that there doesn’t have to be careful screening and that there’s responsibilities for improving that screening based on intelligence,” Kerwin added. “Those need to be implemented. But the fact is we have a very, very secure screening process for refugees. It’s more secure than any other admission process for any other category of immigrants.”
Trump’s memorandum, one of three governing immigration issues during the first week of his administration, suspends the entire U.S. refugee resettlement program for 120 days and bans entry of all citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries – Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia – for 90 days. It also establishes religious criteria for refugees, proposing to give priority to religious minorities over others who may have equally compelling refugee claims.
The resettlement program’s suspension also will affect about 700 employees of Catholic Charities agencies nationwide, with layoffs expected for nearly all of the workers because the stream of refugees has ended, said Sister Markham.
“We absolutely depend on the partnership between public and private funding to support these programs,” she explained. “We don’t have the resources to carry them without that partnership. Four months carrying 700 employees with no income is not feasible for a charitable organization like Catholic Charities.”
The bishops’ MRS department in conjunction with diocesan Catholic Charities agencies resettled about 23,000 of the nearly 85,000 refugees admitted into the U.S. in fiscal year 2016. The majority of them were women and children, said William Canny, MRS executive director.

People attend a Feb. 1 vigil sponsored by the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition in Nashville in response to President Donald Trump's Jan. 27 executive order suspending the entry of refugees into the United States for 120 days. (CNS photo/Theresa Laurence, Tennessee Register)

People attend a Feb. 1 vigil sponsored by the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition in Nashville in response to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order suspending the entry of refugees into the United States for 120 days. (CNS photo/Theresa Laurence, Tennessee Register)

The number of refugees resettled is a small proportion of the 21 million refugees tallied worldwide by the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Canny noted.
He also expressed concern that the resettlement program had enjoyed bipartisan support from Congress and Democratic and Republican White Houses over the years, but that “in the last year or so we saw a breakdown” in such backing.
Trump’s other executive memoranda – one calling for a surge in immigrant detention and deportation and the other setting the stage to build a multibillion dollar 2,000 mile wall along the U.S.-Mexico border – drew criticism from Jean Atkinson, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.
An increase in enforcement by federal and local officials “threatens due process and makes our communities and their residents, American and foreign-born, less safe,” Atkinson said. “We’re already seeing men and women afraid to go out into their communities, to go to work, to take their children to school to take them to medical appointments.”
While the organizational leaders pledged to advocate for refugees as long as needed, they also invited Catholics to voice their objection to the president’s actions.
J. Kevin Appleby, senior director of international migration policy at the Center for Migration Studies, said if Catholics mobilized, they could influence the president to change his mind.
“This is a really important moment for Catholics in our country,” he said. “The church is in a particular position to influence this administration I think in positive ways on these issue. Catholics voted for President Trump for various reasons, so they have the ability to convince the administration that they are on the wrong course.”

Diocesan Priority rollout begins with Convocation

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By Maureen Smith
CANTON – Priests, deacons, lay ecclesial ministers and lay leaders from parishes across the diocese gathered at the Duncan Gray Center for a convocation to introduce the new diocesan pastoral priorities.
The gathering was the first of many meant to implement the new priorities throughout the church in the Diocese of Jackson The convocation gave the bishop and his team a chance to share the priorities and spend some time talking about how to integrate them into parish life.

CANTON – Lucille Smith, center, top photo, from Catholic Leadership Institute, speaks to the convocation.

CANTON – Lucille Smith, center, top photo, from Catholic Leadership Institute, speaks to the convocation.

Trainers from Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) presented some workshops on goal setting and then the attendees divided into groups to work on sample goals and plans they can take back to their parishes.
The next step will be meetings similar to the listening sessions hosted last year. At the new meetings, the bishop and his team will introduce a new vision, mission and set of three priorities for the diocese. The meeting schedule is on page 11 of this edition.
After those meetings, parishes will begin their work to align their work with the new priorities. The bishop has recruited a team of resource people for this part of the process. These people will be assigned to specific parishes. They will collaborate with the pastors to offer help when needed and keep track of progress on the goals each community sets for itself.
“What we like about this approach is that each community can look at it’s challenges and it’s members and see how they can support the overall mission. The mission remains the same for the whole diocese, but each community can adapt as it needs to help bring the vision to reality,” said Bishop Kopacz.

CANTON – In bottom photo, Pam Menninger, LEM of Gluckstadt St. Joseph, gestures as she discusses goals with Father Alfred Ayem, SVD, pastor of Jackson Holy Ghost, Msgr. Elvin Sunds, pastor of Jackson St. Therese, Father Mike O'Brien, pastor of Canton Sacred Heart, Father Raul Ventura, ST, pastor of Canton Holy Child Jesus and Camden Sacred Heart and Rebecca Harris, director of Stewardship and development. (Photos by Maureen Smith)

CANTON – In bottom photo, Pam Menninger, LEM of Gluckstadt St. Joseph, gestures as she discusses goals with Father Alfred Ayem, SVD, pastor of Jackson Holy Ghost, Msgr. Elvin Sunds, pastor of Jackson St. Therese, Father Mike O’Brien, pastor of Canton Sacred Heart, Father Raul Ventura, ST, pastor of Canton Holy Child Jesus and Camden Sacred Heart and Rebecca Harris, director of Stewardship and development. (Photos by Maureen Smith)

The priorities are the work of Bishop Joseph Kopacz and an Envisioning Team made up of people from every deanery of the diocese. This group took the input from last year’s listening sessions, data about the state, diocese and church in America and received training from Catholic Leadership Institute on strategic planning to craft the new statement.
“Writing the new priorities was just the start of this process,” said Father Kevin Slattery, vicar general for the Diocese of Jackson. “We did not want to write a document that would get put on a shelf. We wanted to create a living plan that the parishes, schools and communities could keep using to move us forward and give us a sense of unity. We hope that using the resource people to support implementation will do just that –keep us headed in the right direction,” Father Slattery added.
Dennis van Auken, one of the trainers from CLI, said he has never seen a diocese plan out implementation in this way.
In addition to the meetings and resource team, the diocese will launch a whole new section of the website dedicated to the new priorities. These pages will have downloadable reflections and graphics parishes and individuals can use as they look at how to align their work with the work of the diocese.
The department of communications has prepared workbooks with the plan and prayer cards to encourage support. Mississippi Catholic will feature the new priorities in March along with coverage of success stories from different communities and continued support for implementation.

Father Xavier Jeseraj, center, works with Raquel Thompson and Sister Maria Elena Mendez.

Father Xavier Jeseraj, center, works with Raquel Thompson and Sister Maria Elena Mendez.